Chapter 2 – The Boy Named Aang and the Flying Bison Called Appa.

The light disappeared, so did the glow, the lone boy fell. Katara gasped and ran to catch him. Sokka hit the boy lightly with the back of his spear several times
'Stop it!' Katara said to him to make him stop then she turned her focus to the boy she held in her arms.

Katara saw that he was shifting his eyes, and then he opened them to look up at her. She smiled because, it's what you do. Katara noticed that he had a grey eye colour, she didn't know why but it seemed to suit him, so did the blue arrow on his head.

He noticed the way that she was dressed, the obvious Water Tribe clothing. That meant where he was…

'I need to ask you something,' he said to her in a sleepy voice
'What?' she inquired
'Please, come closer.' He said in the same sleepy voice.
She did so. 'What is it?'

Perhaps he was asking her name… or where he was.

All sleepiness drowned away as he lifted his eyes to full and said. 'Will you go Penguin sledding with me?!'

This reply wasn't what she expected from a little boy who was just in an iceberg. She backtracked and stared at him in surprise
'Uh, sure… I guess.'

He then got up. And Sokka yelled in a scared way while he looked around
'What's going on here?' he asked while Katara got up.
'You tell us! How did you get in the ice? And why aren't you frozen?!' he asked while then poking him again with the end of the sphere, he knocked it away lazily

He didn't know so all he said was 'I'm not sure.'
Then he heard something, well, they all heard a groaning of types. He gasped then tried to climb the berg from where he fell they all saw him jump and say something, which they didn't catch.

He jumped over the cliff, 'Appa!' he said while gliding down towards him 'are you alright?' he went over to the animals eye then tried to open it. 'Wake up, Buddy.'
He then jumped down and tried to lift him up.

Sokka looked towards Katara who shrugged. He sighed then went around the side, he looked to where the boy was and his mouth dropped. What he saw! Katara's eyes widened at the sight of the boy trying to lift this big, looking heavy animal.

It then licked him, and he grinned while it did
'Hey! You're okay!' He said while on the tongue of this animal and while laughing. Once he got down, he turned to hug the animal. The animal then got up slowly.

Sokka approached slowly, with Katara behind him, his spear raised, in case the animal went to do something in his direction

'What is that thing?' Sokka asked
'This is Appa, my flying bison!' he said while stroking it, as he turned to face Sokka and Katara

'Right. And this is, Katara, my flying sister.' Sokka said sarcastically. Katara turned to him with her eyebrow raised.

The animal then sniffled, and the boy backed away slightly, as it grew more intense, the boy ducked as Appa sneezed, right into the path of Sokka, who got the green snot all over him

He yelled because of it then tried to get it of with the snow yelling 'Ew, eww!' all the way. Katara stared at him it was somewhat funny.

'Don't worry, it'll wash out!' He said to Sokka
Sokka tried to get the snot that was on his face, which was now stuck to his hand 'ugh!' Katara covered her mouth, she didn't know whether to laugh or help him.

'So, do you guys live around here?'

'Don't answer that!' Sokka said to Katara while pointing his spear in his direction, and he stared at it. 'Did you see that crazy bolt of light? He was probably trying to signal the Fire Navy!'
'Oh, yeah!' Katara said walking in front of him and glaring at Sokka, while the boy held up his hands like he didn't know what they were saying 'I'm sure he's a spy for the Fire Navy, you can tell from that evil look in his eye.' Katara said sarcastically while looking from Sokka to the boy by Appa.

He tried to look cute and have a cute look in his eye. It just made him look funny.

'The paranoid one is my brother, Sokka.' Katara said, while Sokka held up a hand a greeting then realizing that they didn't know his name she prompted, 'you never told us your name.'

'I'm Aa— aa– aaa–! Ahh!!– Argg!!— ECHO!!!' he then flew up into the air, while Katara and Sokka hid their heads, then looked skywards to watch the sneezing-air born-boy come down. He slid down the berg, straightened himself and re-said 'I'm Aang!' Then sniffled, putting his finger to his nose, then smiled.

'You just sneezed! And flew ten feet in the air!' Sokka said as if he couldn't believe what he just saw
'Really?' He looked to the sky, 'felt higher then that,'

Katara realized with a gasp, 'you're an Air Bender!'
He nodded while saying 'sure am!'
'Giant light beams, flying bison, Air Benders! I think I've got Mid Night Sun Madness! I'm going home to where stuff makes sense!' He walked over to the edge of the berg, then realizing he couldn't get home. Aang realized this then offered
'Well, if you guys are stuck…. Appa and I can give you a lift...' he then flew up onto Appa's head and sat down.

'We'd love a ride, thanks!'
'Oh, no! I'm not getting on that Fluffy-Snot-Monster!'
Aang saw that Katara would not be able to get onto Appa, considering she couldn't Air Bend, he went over to help her, he took out his hand to her, which she took and smiled, but then frowned in Sokka's direction.

'Are you hopping, some other kind of Monster will come along and give you a ride home? You know, before you freeze to death?' She knew she had him, because he couldn't form a come back.

He then, reluctantly got on. While Katara wanted to see a flying bison actually fly
'Okay! First time flyers, hang on tight!' Aang said to them, and then said to Appa 'Yip-Yip!'

Appa jumped off the iceberg, into the water, and started to paddle. This wasn't what either Aang or Katara was expecting 'come on, Appa! Yip-Yip!' He told the reins again. And Katara come over from where she was sitting
'Wow, that was truly amazing.' Sokka said deadpanned from where he was sitting. Katara looked back to glare at him.

'Appa's just tired, a little rest, and he'll be soaring through the skies, you'll see!' he looked over to them smiling while saying so. Katara moved to stroke Appa's fur, but saw that Aang was still smiling at her
'Why are you smiling at me like that?'
Aang blinked, 'oh, I was smiling?'

Katara thought it was cute, until Sokka went; 'uugh!' then she glared in is direction.

--

Sometime later, Katara was thinking, if Aang was an Air Bender, the Nomads that have been extinct for over a hundred years. Maybe he knew about what happened to the Avatar, and if he was reborn into the Air Nomads.
To ask him, she climbed over Appa to where he was lying down with his hands behind his head

'Hey,'
'Hey, what you thinking about?'
'I guess I was wondering, you being an Air Bender and all, if you had any idea what happened to the Avatar?'

Aang stared at her
'Uh, no…' he sat up straighter 'I didn't know him, I mean… I knew people who knew him, but I didn't… Sorry…'
'Okay, just curious. Goodnight.'
'Sleep tight.'

Aang turned around, he felt uneasy about not telling her.
It was just as well. What would she do if she found out he was the Avatar? She would do either two things; either push him away or worship him. It's not like she could know. There were many Air Benders around! Then he thought… why was it that she was worried about what happened to the Avatar?
For all he knew she could be asking about the Avatar before him.

These thoughts were the last he thought because he fell asleep.

It was dark, and it was raining.
Aang opened his eyes to find himself in a storm.
He raced with Appa, to try to get out of the storm and the huge waves, screaming all the way.
However, no matter how hard he tried, the gusts of winds blew Appa into the water, and under.
Aang was losing his hold on his breathing and the hold on Appa's reins, he was forced to let go of the reins and everything went white–

--

Katara woke in the Tribe, and she remembered that they arrived late in the night. Appa was still sleeping, she realized this when she walked out of her room, Sokka was awake and beside the room that held Aang.
'Is he awake?' She asked him, Sokka shrugged, so she went in anyway.

'Aang?' Katara didn't like the way that he was sleeping, 'Aang wake up!'
He woke up in a frightened state.
'It's okay; we're in the village now.' She told him, hopping that would calm him down. 'Get ready, everyone is waiting to meet you.'

Aang went to get his clothes that was when she noticed the blue arrow on his head, was mostly around his body too, even at his feet. As he was pulling on his shirt, she grabbed him and pulled him with him going 'Uwah!'

Katara half pulled, half dragged him into the Tribe's centre, where everyone was waiting to meet him, Katara didn't know how the parties would react to each other, but she guessed it would be okay.
'Aang this is the entire Village, entire Village, Aang!'
Everyone stared at him, even after he greeted all of them.
Some pulled their children behind them.

'Uh, why are they all looking at me like that?' Then he looked down and asked 'did Appa sneeze on me?'
'Well, no one has seen an Air Bender for a hundred years, we all thought them to be extinct, until my Granddaughter and Grandson found you.'
'Extinct?'
'Aang, this is my Grandmother.'
'Call me Gran-Gran.'

Sokka then came over noticing something in Aang's hand.
'What is this, a weapon?' He asked while snatching it up and looking at it 'you can't stab anything with this!' he implored noticed that there were no sharp edges.
'It's not for stabbing,' he started and he took it back by bending 'it's for Air Bending,' he then Bended the air around it so the glider wings came out, Sokka hid, and the Tribe's children were amazed
'Magic trick! Do it again!'
'Not magic, Air Bending,' he told them 'it lets me control the currents around my glider and fly!' he also told them while showing them with his glider around him
'You know, last time I checked, humans can't fly!' Sokka said accusingly
'Check again!' Aang said then bended the air around him and took off, and started to show of.

He was until he smashed into a lot of snow, which turned out to be Sokka's watchtower
'My watchtower!' Sokka said as Aang was able to pull himself out of the snow tower, and full in a heap of snow, he watched as Katara came running over to him.
'That was amazing!' she said while holding out her hand, which he took, while Sokka ran behind him to check his watchtower, then which a lot of snow fell on him while Aang Air Bended the currents to close the glider.

'Great, you're an Air Bender, Katara's a Water Bender, and together you can waste time all day long!' Sokka said while getting up from the pile of snow.
'You're a Water Bender!' Aang said happily
'Well, sort of… not yet…'
What did she mean by "not yet?"
'All right, no more playing, Katara, you've got chores.' Gran-Gran said. Aang knew that he didn't have anything to do and that the little kids were too little to do anything, so why not have some fun. He should them how the coldness of where they were that his Air Bender staff could stick to his tongue, even when one of them pulled on it.

'He's the real thing, Gran-Gran!' Katara told her excitedly 'I've finally found a Bender to teach me!'
'Katara, try not to put all your hopes in this boy.'
'But he's special! I can tell he's filled with much wisdom!' she looked over to Aang who had his staff stuck to his tongue. You've just made this a lot harder. She thought. Gran-Gran looked at Katara with one of her I-told-you-so-looks. Katara knew she wasn't able top win, so took of to do her chores she had assigned to her that day.